A landmark Blackburn café bar in the heart of the town centre has been transformed into a luxury Indian restaurant.

Known for its authentic Punjabi cuisine, prestigious restaurant company East Z East has opened it’s first venue in Blackburn, investing over £400k to transform the former Blakeys café bar next to King George’s Hall.

It opened it’s doors for the first time on Monday to invited guests and officially opened last night (Tuesday September 11th).

The investment comes ahead of work starting on the multi-million pound Reel Cinema Complex and the Blakey Moor Townscape Heritage Project, part of a five year transformation plan.

Business partners Zahid Iqbal and Ash Hussain say they are delighted with how their new restaurant looks. Zahid said:

Dining out is about so much more than just eating, the food has to be amazing but so do the surroundings, the service and the ambiance. I think we have created exactly that and we are very excited about the future here.

Cllr Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration, added:

This is another fantastic addition to the town’s growing repertoire of high quality dining and drinking establishments.

Having this restaurant right in the heart of Blackburn Town Centre very much brings to life our vision and ambition for the town centre, offering a great addition to the dining and night life economy.

Following East Z East’s sponsorship of Rover the Dog’s home and away shirts for the 2018-19 campaign, the Rovers’ mascot also popped in to take a look around the establishment and have photos with the younger diners on the night.

The new 250 seated Indian restaurant will serve traditional and unique Indian dishes. There will also be a fully licensed bar and takeaway available with a twist of fusion.

It will offer a South Asian curry menu including the Mixed Grill Tandoor and the legendary family naan breads. It will also serve traditional British dishes, such as fish and chips and afternoon tea.

The East Z East chain also has branches in Preston, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.